The North Pole's first lady isn't all kind words, frilly aprons and sensible shoes; she's got an engineering degree, a knack for invention and makes a

While Santa Claus responds to all his own mail, at this busy time of year Mrs. Claus has started posting almost-daily letters to answer the many questions children ask about life in the North Pole.

By:Michele HenryLife Reporter, Published on Fri Dec 21 2012

The North Pole's first lady isn't all kind words, frilly aprons and sensible shoes; she's got an engineering degree, a knack for invention and makes a fierce goalie.

At least that's the impression you get when you read Mrs. Claus's missives from the North Pole.

“The elves and reindeer have to work very hard to get the puck past Mrs. Claus,” says Cindy Daoust, a close personal friend of the original lady in red, Canada Post's manager of community investment and chief elf overseeing all Santa initiatives for Canada Post.

“There's more to Mrs. Claus than just baking cookies.”

If you've ever wondered about Santa's bespectacled, doting wife, you're not alone. In their queries to Santa each year, hundreds of thousands of kids wonder, too.

With the help of Daoust, Mrs. Claus started sharing the story of her life, details about her famous husband, the elves and the general goings on at the North Pole.

Mrs. Claus will post her last letter for the year on Dec. 24, but kids can read the collection at canadapost.ca/santa.

While many of the stories were written in advance of this Christmas season, some have been changed and composed on the fly, Daoust explains, to address fresh queries and concerns from the hundreds of thousand of letters Santa receives weekly.

Last year, more than 1.3 million letters passed through the jolly old elf's mailbox and 48,000 emails trickled into his inbox from kids across the globe. The numbers aren't in yet for this year, but tallies are sure to be just as impressive.

Keisha McIntosh-Siung is a one of 9,000 Canada Post elves helping Santa craft personal replies to all his letters. She calls them “fascinating” and still, after 14 years of dutiful elf service, laughs out loud at some such as when one child wrote: ‘I left you cookies last year. I'm sorry Santa that my dad got to them first. I'll try to guard the cookies this year until you come.'

McIntosh-Siung has also made some interesting observations.

For one, she says, kids are predictable. Boys want toys, such as Lego, and games, like Hungry Hungry Hippo.

And girls?

“Two words: Justin Bieber.”

What do they want with him?

“They want Santa to bring him,” she says.

To bring him to their homes?

“Yes.”

And, says McIntosh-Siung, boys and girls have different writing styles.

Whereas boys are direct and to the point: ‘Hi Santa, here's my list,' girls ask questions, such as ‘How's Mrs. Claus? What colour is her hair?'

Thus the reason for Mrs. Claus's letters.

Individually, the almost-daily letters are fun and quick to read and as a collection, weave a lovely narrative about Christmas's beloved, power couple and their lives in the north.

In them, we learn that Mrs. Claus loves to invent things — even if they don't always turn out. She writes that her “official title is ‘Chief Electronic Imagination Consultant,” which means she advises the elves on the making of electronic games.

She also spends much of her free time in Zumba classes and, whether the elves want to or not, they have to clean their rooms and do their homework.

Because children thirst for secrets, Daoust says, “that no one else would know about Santa,” Mrs. Claus has been coaxed to reveal intimate details about her husband — he has stinky feet — and how the couple began their long love affair.

“At a dance at the North Pole community centre,” Daoust says.

“They looked at each other across the hall, there were awkward silences, they shared a cup of cocoa and the rest, as they say, is history.”

And given Mrs. Claus's many accomplishments and qualifications, might the North Pole's first lady be better equipped to guide the sleigh on Christmas Eve?

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